There is a joke that goes like this: A piano player shows up at a gig. They tell him he needs to play cocktail music all night. He says he only knows two songs. The boss says,
“Well, maybe you can just play those two songs over and over. What two songs do you know?” The piano player thinks for a while and says, “Duke Ellington’s ‘Lust Life’ and ‘Jesus Loves Me’.”

If you are laughing, you are a musician. If you aren’t laughing then chalk it up to me not being able to tell a joke. The point is this. Tonight I am walking home and as I round the corner of 49th and 7th there is a cornet player squeaking out a tune. I have never seen him on that corner before and I know all the regulars. I finally realize that he is playing an almost unrecognizable rendition of “Jesus Loves Me”. I start laughing wondering if his next song is “Lush Life”. Rather than have him think I am anti-Christian, I end up giving him a buck for the worst version of “Jesus Loves Me” I have ever heard.

We had a large group of drama students from La Guardia High School at the show tonight. They were great. Thanks, come back and bring more of your friends. I loved working for you. Wish it had been a talk back night so I could get to know you all.

Speaking of which, I understand we are going to be doing an additional talk back night weekly. I’m not sure when or what night. Like most things I usually read about it in the trade papers.

The show seems to go by so fast recently. I feel like I am just warming up and it is over. There are times when I long for my theme park days when 30 minutes later we would be doing another show. My five show weekend is coming up, I’ll let you know if I still feel that way on Sunday night.
As you were,
Jay